Tag Archives: easy

December 6

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The easiest version of this craft, a simple non-windowed house.

Google image search “paper house luminaries” and find tons of free templates and ideas. Print on plain or patterned paper, cut out windows if you’d like, fold, glue, then add to your tree. Our printer isn’t set up in the apartment, so I sketched up a similar draft of one of the free templates I found then traced with a ruler. Paper trees go from basic to very elaborate. I could probably fill a whole tree of different houses if I had my Exacto blades and a printer for some different templates!

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Here are my drafts. Keep on tweaking if you are free handing this project! 

If you are printing the template on decorative paper, print on the blank side. If the pattern is on both sides, fold so the template is inward. Also, practice a few houses on regular printer paper before trying on fancy stuff.

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Here is the result. I tried to dot fold lines and make cut lines solid… but messed up in a few places. 

Pinterest has a ton of paper houses and paper luminaries. Have fun!

December 4

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By now, you’ve made a couple of ornaments and may have some scrap paper. You’ve made these probably with straw wrappers, while in class, while you’re on a conference call… anyway, they are a super simple folded piece of ART. They are the original fidget toy. Bask in the glory of simplicity and not wasting a scrap of paper. If you haven’t made one of these, the steps are simple and below:

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Strips of scrap. Any size and width will do and it’s okay if they are a little beat up. It adds character.

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It helps to add a touch of glue to the starting corner.

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Start folding the pieces evenly on top of each other.

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folding….

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folding…

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And fold until you can’t fold anymore. Trim off any excess and glue the top bits in place.

So simple, so satisfying. And it eats up any scraps you may have! It’s like amped up tinsel! Try in different widths, lengths and with more than two pieces!

Case of the Mondays

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A helpful tip for anxious minds, forgetful days and and especially comforting when traveling. Happy Monday!

Emi’s Home Fries Recipe

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Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbs Olive Oil
  • 2 Cups Red or Gourmet Baby Potatoes
  • 1/2 Cup Chopped Yellow Onion
  • 1/2 tsp Dried Basil
  • 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
  • Pinch of Paprika

Directions

  1. Heat 2 Tbs of olive oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet.
  2. Once heated, add potatoes, onion and all of the spices.
  3. Shimmy, flip or stir everything so it’s combined.
  4. Flip or stir lightly every 3 minutes for 15-20 minutes or until medium golden brown. Larger cut potatoes will take longer.

Tips:

  • I use a Vidalia Chop Wizard to get evenly shaped potatoes and onion. (Vidalia Chop Wizard $19.99)
  • For threatening oil pops, I cover with a piece of foil or parchment paper.
  • Keep all the potatoes touching the pan – flatten out every time you flip or stir.
  • This can easily be cooked in a 375 oven until golden.

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